Silva J/80 World Championship 2005 at Falmouth – Day 4

Day four racing at the J80 worlds in Falmouth © Lee Whitehead / www.photolounge.co.uk

Day four racing at the J80 worlds in Falmouth © Lee Whitehead / www.photolounge.co.uk

Finally the wind gods smiled on Falmouth yesterday and on the Silva J/80 World Championships hosted by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club and the fleet motored out from Port Pendennis Marina to race in Falmouth bay. Race Officer Jeff Martin set a windward leeward course taking full advantage of the 12 knots of southerly breeze.

Race 7 of the series saw the fleet split at the start and it was the French team of Eric Brezellec in J Suis who lead around the first mark with Marie-Claude Heys in Jenga tacktick nudging his transom and Ruairidh Scott in Team Volvo third. Working hard on the downwind leg, Jenga tacktick nipped past J Suis and held her lead finishing out in front with J Suis 2nd and Team Volvo 3rd.

Needles and Pins and the German team of Peter Hecht and Ulrich Muenker were certainly one of the favourites to win this regatta and at times have found good form. It all came together for them in Race 8. At the first and second marks it was the French team in Apolojee in first place and Peter Wanstall in Jem second with Robert Napier in Jura hot on his heels. At this point Needles and Pins was way back in the fleet. Occasionally you are lucky enough to witness some really impressive sailing and by the second windward mark Needles and Pins had worked their way to 2nd place. Their bullet at the finish was well deserved. Apolojee took 2nd place and Team Volvo made 3rd.

Consistency wins regattas and prior to Race 9 of this ten race championship there must have been a bit of a team huddle on board Ruairidh Scott’s Team Volvo. With their worst result to count being a 13th they knew they just had to hang in there to take the Silva J/80 World Championship title. That said, Team Volvo were not to have things all their own way and the Swedish team of Ola Burmark sailing Thule were first up the beat to the windward mark. By the second beat they had slipped to second and the French team of Eric Herve in Jiotoo had taken the lead. At this point Team Volvo were in 4th place. By the third lap of the course Jiotoo had extended their lead over Thule and as they rounded and popped their kite they were joined by a pod of dolphins on their bow. At the finish it had all changed again and it was Jiotoo (with dolphins) in 1st place, Team Volvo 2nd and Laurent Abignoli in Tendrisse 3rd.

Who was it who said ‘There are no prizes for coming second’? For Ruairidh and his crew in Team Volvo, a borrowed boat owned by the RYA, second place in Race 9 was enough to win them the Silva J/80 World Championship with a race to spare. A truly impressive result for an extremely skilled and charming young team who have conducted themselves with courtesy and dedication throughout this regatta. However, with the final race of the series due to be sailed this morning, there is still much to win or lose for the 52 other teams at this event and even with the winner decided, the atmosphere is no less tense and exciting than it has been since racing started on Monday.

Results after Day 4: